


Wonders of the Aquarium

by ggtwrites (thewritingsofahydrangea)



Series: Magical SF9 [3]
Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Mermaid!Hwiyoung, Mermaids, magical au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 01:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16734522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewritingsofahydrangea/pseuds/ggtwrites
Summary: There’s more to this aquarium employee than meets the eye.





	Wonders of the Aquarium

**Author's Note:**

> I'm slowly posting all the fics I've written and this one is next! This is a fun one, and it was a gift for a friend of mine on tumblr.

You had moved to the city a few months ago, but between unpacking, settling in, and spending time with your friends who were now nearby, you hadn’t had a chance to visit the place you wanted to experience most of all. But today was the day. Today, finally, you would visit the local aquarium. The tall building rose high into the sky, and you stood at its entrance, bouncing on your heels in anticipation, taking a moment to study the exterior.

After you were done studying the outside of the building you pushed open the door and walked inside. You were greeted with the sight of a ticket counter and the biggest fish tank you had ever seen. Looking up in awe at the tank your breath left you. 

It towered over you, with fishes swimming high above your head, near your feet, and everywhere in between. As they swam lazy circles around the gigantic tank you moved closer, pressing a hand against the cool glass separating you from the water and the fish.

As you stood there, time came to a stop. All that existed in that moment was you and the fish. But suddenly you were broken out of your trance by a fish swimming right up to your face. You jumped back, startled by the fish whose body was almost the size of your head.

You shook your head, laughing a little at yourself for reacting in such a dramatic way, and turned to the ticket counter. After purchasing a ticket you walked past the fish tank and deeper into the aquarium. The tank was amazing, but there were so many other creatures you wanted to see.

Roaming through the aquarium, you were amazed at the variety of creatures within the tanks and exhibits. While in some cases it only took you a few minutes to be ready to move on, when it came to other creatures you had to tear yourself from them. While you certainly could have stayed in front of some exhibits most of the day, you had wanted to make sure you had a chance to see everything the aquarium had to offer.

Near the end of your exploration of the aquarium you reached the exhibit you had been looking forward to the most, the sea otters. You approached the glass, and as soon as you peered into the enclosure you gasped. They were cuter in person than you could have ever imagined. There were three of them in the water, floating peaceful on their backs.

As you watched them, one suddenly flipped over and dove under the water. You kneeled down and peered through the glass to see it swimming in circles around the bottom of the water. After a few laps it shot back to the surface and padded onto the shore.

Following its path, you looked up to see an aquarium employee standing near a door in the exhibit, a metal bucket in his hand. He was younger than most of the employees you had seen so far, save for those in the gift shop and at the ticket counter, with soft brown hair and eyes a deep, dark shade of brown.

You studied him for a moment while he was occupied with the otter padding eagerly towards him. He was looking down at the otter, a soft smile on his handsome face. Setting the bucket down at his side he crouched down, and the otter scampered over to him. The man held something up to the otter’s mouth but before you could see what it was, the otter had eaten it whole.

After feeding the otter a few more pieces he walked to the edge of the water and the other two otters swam over to him, once again on their backs after they had moved close to the shore. As the otters floated, the aquarium employee gently tossed pieces of their food to them. The otters grabbed the pieces in their paws and ate them.

You had never seen otters use their paws to eat before, and it was one of the cutest things you had ever seen. They were so cute that completely forgot about the aquarium employee feeding them, all your attention on the otters. The only reason you noticed him leaving was the lack of food being thrown to the otters. Looking up, you saw him walking out the small door at the far corner of the exhibit.

Once you had spent a significant length of time staring at the otters, you managed to pull yourself away to continue your tour of the aquarium, making sure you didn’t miss a single tank or exhibit. At the end of your exploration you walked back to the lobby with the giant fish tank. 

Over the course of your visit an idea had been brewing in your mind, and deciding to act on this idea, you bought yourself a membership to the aquarium. Considering how many amazing creatures there were, you were sure you would want to come back again many times.

\---

As the summer continued, you visited the aquarium many more times. Sometimes you invited friends along, but for the most part, you went alone. The aquarium had become a sanctuary for you, a place where you felt at peace, quietly admiring the marine life.

Coming so often you had become a regular at the aquarium, and you had grown to know a fair number of the aquarium employees who worked there. One in particular you talked to often, and his name was Hwiyoung, the man you had seen feeding the otters the first time you came to the aquarium. 

Another task he performed while working at the aquarium was standing in front of an assigned tank or exhibit and discussing the animals inside with anyone who wanted to ask about them. This was how you began your friendship with him, chatting with him about the puffins in the sea bird enclosure he had been assigned to that day.

Hwiyoung, as you learned over time, rotated between many different positions, having a basic understanding of all the creatures at the aquarium. Sometimes you would see him feeding the otters, other times he would be telling a group of small children the names of the aquarium’s harbor seals. He also helped to keep an eye on the touch tanks, making sure all the creatures were touched gently and never picked up. 

Along with this, he was one of the few employees that the aquarium’s octopus liked. Most of the time it was a difficult creature to deal with, being too smart for its own good and getting bored easily. It was often full of sass and stubbornness, but around Hwiyoung, it was very sweet and tame. There were a few others that the octopus liked, so he wasn’t always caring for it, but handling the octopus feedings was a common sight at the aquarium.

As time went on, the small chats you had with him about marine life became one of the highlights of your visits, and you were always keeping an eye out for him as you wandered through the aquarium. While Hwiyoung wasn’t one of the most talkative people you knew, what he did say was thoughtful, and you had learned a lot about the creatures at the aquarium by talking to him.

\---

On your way to the aquarium one day you heard a splash in the water. Walking to the edge of the walkway, you leaned over the railing, looking for ripples in the water. Suddenly, a head came out of the water. Not the head of a seal like you had seen near the aquarium before, but the head of a human. He shook his hair and water droplets scattered around him as he floated in the water, his shoulders just visible above the surface of the water. 

You stood there, in awe at the sight of his handsome face as the sun came out from behind a cloud, illuminating his features. Rivulets of water trailed down his face, catching the sun like tiny diamonds. His hair glistened in the sun as he pushed it away from his face. The beauty of the man in the water almost took your breath away. 

And then there was a moment of realization, as it occurred to you that this handsome man in the water looked familiar. As you thought this, his eyes met yours. A look of recognition crossed his face, followed first by shock, and the panic. He dove beneath the water, and as he did something else pushed out of the water, glittering silver in the rays of the sun. And then he was gone, leaving you alone to process the sight you had just witnessed. 

It had happened so quickly, but the glittering silver had almost looked like - a tail?  _ No _ , you thought to yourself, that couldn’t have been it. There was no way. You shifted your thoughts away from the silver thing to the face of the handsome man, and you were hit with the realization of who he looked like. Hwiyoung.

Pushing away the idea you continued your walk towards the aquarium, your thoughts tumbling over each other as you both tried to both process what had happened and focus on other things. As you got closer to the aquarium you smiled. It had been too long since you had paid it a visit, and you missed all the marine life. And you missed your marine buddy. Talking with Hwiyoung always brought a smile to your face.

Hwiyoung. That face in the water had looked so much like his. You tried to push the thought away, but it kept rising to the surface of your mind like a whisper in your ear. When you couldn’t get rid of the thought you tried to rationalize what you had seen. Maybe it was Hwiyoung. Maybe he had been doing some diving for the aquarium, checking the local marine life. Maybe that silver thing had been just a bright reflection on the water.

His shoulders were bare, the thoughts whirling in your mind whispered back. You stopped walking, confronted by your own thoughts. He wasn’t wearing a wetsuit. The water was far too cold for him to be swimming without protection. And there was nothing to create a reflection like that glittering silver on the water. No passing ships, no plane overhead, no fish swimming by.

What had you seen? You weren’t sure you wanted to know. But one thought rose above the hurricane know raging in your mind, calling to you. It whispered of magic, and a creature only seen in fiction. But what if it wasn’t fiction? What if it was real, and you had just seen something you never thought to exist in your world?

But before this thought had risen too high it fell, deflated by your practicality like a balloon whose air had left it. There was no way mermaids could be real, you were just seeing things. 

Sighing to yourself you started walking again. Now wasn’t the time to think like this, you had an aquarium to visit. As you entered through the wide doors you breathed deeply, taking in the sight of the now familiar giant fish tank near the entrance. Scanning your membership badge you walked in, making a beeline for your favorite exhibit. 

You stood in front of the sea otters, watching as they calmly floated on their backs in the water. Their feeding time wasn’t for a couple more hours, and it seemed like now has otter nap time. You gazed fondly at the otters, content to simply watch them float. As you looked at the otters you were able to move your thoughts away from the strange encounter outside, drinking in the peace they provided you.

After a while you sighed, and moved on to look at the other creatures. As you wandered, you hoped to catch sight of Hwiyoung, but he was nowhere to be found. He was probably working somewhere out of the public view today, but just to be sure you asked one of the aquarium employees you knew where he was working today.

Much to your surprise, she told you that he wasn’t meant to come in until the afternoon today, but had called in sick not too long ago. “Getting sick is a big deal for the aquarium,” she explained, “we need to make sure none of the creatures get sick, so we’re very careful when it comes to illness.”

As you thanked her the thoughts you had managed to push away during your visit came rushing back. The timing, it had to be a coincidence. But what if wasn’t?

Throughout the rest of your visit, and even once you were back home the thoughts of the man in the water, who looked like Hwiyoung, who had a tail, who couldn’t have been real, kept circling through your mind. Despite all your efforts the thoughts would still pop up from time to time.

While your thoughts settled a little as time went on, you knew until Hwiyoung came back they wouldn’t rest completely. The problem was that he hadn’t come back yet. It had been several weeks since you had learned he was sick, and every time you had come to aquarium since you were told the same thing, that he was still out sick.

As this continued a new thought began to surface in your mind, one that slowly hurt your heart as it became a consistent worry. What if he didn’t come back? What if he was forever gone from your life? What if you never got to see his smile or hear him talk ever again? 

You had no way to contact him, never having gotten up the nerve to ask him for any way to keep in touch, and now it didn’t feel right to ask one of the other employees, leaving you with nothing to do but wait and see if came back. You truly hoped he did. There were so many things you still wanted to talk with him about. And while you still dearly loved the aquarium and the all creatures within, with no Hwiyoung it didn’t feel the same.

\---

When you had almost given up hope, and almost gotten used to the aquarium without Hwiyoung, you heard a familiar voice as you wandered through the place that felt so close to home.

You stopped in your tracks and turned in circles looking for the source of his voice. And there he was, talking to a guest next to the octopus tank. He smiled softly as he turned to point at the octopus. A jolt ran through your body, a fluttering sensation building in your chest at the sight of his smile. 

You started to walk towards him, anticipation of talking to him again rising as you started to hear his voice more clearly. His deep voice always set you at ease, and you hadn’t realized just how much you had missed hearing him talk until that moment.

As he finished talking to the guest he turned, and for a moment your eyes met.  You smiled and gave a little wave, and he waved back giving you a small smile. But his eyes drifted away from yours and he turned away, the smile on his face turning into a soft frown. 

The fluttering sensation in your chest stopped, a slight ache taking its place. You kept walking towards him anyway, and as you came closer you said, “Hi, Hwiyoung.” 

He turned back around to face you, and while he did smile at you again his eyes seemed guarded and uncertain, not nearly as soft and welcoming as they had been in the past. “Oh. Hey, Y/N.” He said.

Shifting from foot to foot feeling an awkwardness between the two of you, you asked, “So, are you feeling better? I heard you were sick.”

He hesitated, almost seeming to be gauging your words, before responding. “Yeah, much better. Thanks for asking.”

You nodded in reply, and asked him, “So, how’s the octopus doing?”

“She’s fine.” He said.

Trying to keep the conversation going you asked, “Has she gotten into any trouble recently?”

Hwiyoung shrugged, “No more than normal.”

“Oh,” you said, “I see.” This was nothing like the warm conversations about marine life that you were used to with him, and the distance in his responses and his eyes felt like a tiny stab in your heart. Not wanting to talk to someone who didn’t seem to want to talk to you, you said, “Well, it was nice seeing you. I’m glad you’re better.”

He nodded, giving you a small smile. And that was it. You walked away, disappointed by the the way he was acting differently around you. That was the first time you had seen him in a while, why was he treating you that way?

The next few times you saw Hwiyoung your conversations felt awkward and almost strained, but slowly he began to warm up to you again, and soon the all the reservations he had build up melted away, leaving the two of you back at a place of comfortable friendship.

\---

One day while gazing at the otters you heard footsteps coming up behind you. Turning around you saw your favorite aquarium employee coming up to stand next to you. “Hey,” you said, giving him a warm smile that closely matched how you felt inside, although there was also a fluttering feeling in your chest.

“Hey,” he said in return, giving you a soft smile that warmed your heart.

Your smile widened as you asked him teasingly, “Shouldn’t you be working? Who’s going to keep the octopus in line if you’re here?”

“She’ll be fine. Besides, I’m on break.” He said and then turned towards the exhibit. The two of you stood there in comfortable silence watching the otters float peacefully on their backs until Hwiyoung spoke again. Looking at you he asked, “Y/N, could you come with me for a few minutes? I want to talk to you somewhere a little less popular.”

You nodded, both as an agreement to his request and his statement about the popularity of the otter exhibit.

He started walking and you followed, passing through rooms buzzing with people until you came to a quiet room filled with jellyfish tanks. Once you had both stopped walking Hwiyoung turned to you and said, “I want to talk to about, well,” he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I want to ask you what you saw in the water the first day I called in sick.”

Your eyes widened. You had stopped thinking about that day, having pushed it into a corner of your mind, but now it came rushing back… Hwiyoung in the water with bare shoulders and a flash of silver.

“What do you mean?” You asked with a nervous laugh. “How would you know about that? It was nothing. I mean maybe I saw something but that was a while ago I don’t see why it matters now.”

Hwiyoung responded, “It matters because I want to know how much you saw, and what you think you saw.”

With his serious gaze focused on you, all you could do was tell the truth, no evasions. Despite the nervousness that lay underneath, these were eyes you couldn’t say no to. “I saw a person. Who looked like you in the water. And then what looked like a tail. I think- I think I saw a mermaid.”

“That wasn’t just a person that looked like me,” Hwiyoung admitted, “that was me. And, I am a mermaid.”

A small part of you thought he might be joking, but it was a very small part. This didn’t seem like something he would joke about. Which just left one question on your mind, one that you blurted out even as you were still processing. “Why are you telling me this?”

Once again he ran his fingers through his hair, as if he might find the right answers there. But he didn’t seem to find the answer he was looking for, and so he struggled for a moment to find his words before he spoke, “Well, you never told anyone about what you saw, or at least no one that could cause harm to me. And you haven’t treated me any differently since I came back.”

“And so, I- well- I trust you. And- I- you- know. Know the truth.” His words came out in rough parts that might have made sense but were far from a coherent string of words. His cheeks reddened slight as he looked down at the ground. “I wanted to you to know the truth.” He said quietly.

The fluttering he caused in your heart increased, and you found yourself also looking at the ground, your cheeks heating up. “I’m glad you trust me.” You said, unsure what else to say.

“In a way, Y/N, I’m happy you know my secret.” Hwiyoung said, and you looked up to see him smiling softly at you, his words having come back to him. And then he leaned down, and before you knew what had happened he had kissed you on the cheek and walked quickly away.

You held a hand up to your cheek, your mouth hanging open. Your mind stopped, all thought processes abandoning you. By the time you were able to think clearly again Hwiyoung was long gone, having slipped into an employee only area.


End file.
